For secondary school teacher Lisa Knights, helping on the SwimTayka project in Bali came at exactly the right time.
With her children grown up, and having summer holidays off from school, Lisa had been looking for a volunteering opportunity.
And – being a qualified swim instructor – helping SwimTayka was a perfect fit!
“I teach DT at a secondary school in Bristol, but I also take children for swimming lessons, and teach at a local swim school at weekends,” said Lisa, from Somerset.
“I thought it would be nice to put the time I have in the summer to a positive use, so started looking for opportunities abroad that would use my skills, and I found SwimTayka.”
Lisa spent two weeks volunteering on the Bali programme, working alongside our local NGO partner, Swimdo. Her visit coincided with that of our ambassador to Bali, Amy Holden, who was out there helping to strengthen the programme, and expand its reach.
As well as teaching children to swim, Lisa supported the teachers to help improve their skills as instructors.
“We taught at three different pools, which was interesting. Being there at the same time as Amy was great, so we were able to go through lesson planning, and assessments to help teachers apply what they were learning.
“We noticed there weren’t too many games going on, so we helped them make the lessons a bit more fun.”
Lisa found it was the first time in a pool for many children, but they were all prepared to have a go, even if they felt nervous.
“They were really determined and enjoying what they were doing, even if they were well out of their comfort zone. They had a lot of fun.”
Lisa hopes to go back to Bali and highly recommends it to anyone considering volunteering.
“It was a really positive experience, and I have no hesitation in recommending it. It is so well organised, so authentic and I want to stay more involved.”
Are you inspired to volunteer in Bali, like Lisa? You can find more information here. Our 2025 programme will run from June to September. Or, if you’d like to explore our other programmes, next year we have volunteering opportunities in Brazil, Peru, and Uganda. Whichever you are interested in, why not get in touch with our friendly team to find out more?
